The roads to Super Bowl XLII are converging at a place that won’t just decide the world champion but might also settle one of the longest-standing arguments in NFL history.
Who, you ask, is the greatest quarterback of all time?
We might very well have that answer on Feb. 3.
The way things are playing out, two of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history could be going head-to-head on the biggest stage when the Super Bowl plays out in Glendale, Ariz., in February.
The AFC participant is likely to include either New England’s Tom Brady or the Indianapolis Colts’ Peyton Manning, both of whom are among the top handful of QBs ever. As luck would have it – or maybe it’s not really about luck at all — the NFC champion could well be the Green Bay Packers and future Hall-of-Famer Brett Favre.
Imagine Brady, with sights on tying Terry Bradshaw’s record of four Super Bowl wins by a quarterback, facing Favre, who spent part of this season eclipsing league records for most passing yards and passing touchdowns.
Or Favre facing Manning, who has had the most productive first nine years of any quarterback in NFL history and is also looking to win back-to-back Super Bowls — something Favre never did.
With two weeks of hype leading up to the game, the who’s-the-best-QB-ever arguments would gain so much momentum that the Super Bowl might feel like a winner-take-all argument-ender.
If Favre leads the Packers to a Super Bowl win at the age of 38, it would probably put an end to any discussions about QB greatness. He already holds the most hallowed records for longevity and quarterback play, and a second Super Bowl title would all but cement his name atop the list.
But Brady has made quite a run as well, with an incredible 12-2 record in playoff games and three Super Bowl titles in his first six seasons as a starter. Those numbers would be 15-2 and four titles in seven years if the Pats win it all in February, and that doesn’t even account for the possibility of an unbeaten season. Brady’s postseason success has already pushed him into a two-man argument with Joe Montana about who is the best big-game quarterback of all time.
Like Brady, Manning’s resume is still being written. But his Super Bowl title last year got the proverbial monkey off his back and put his name on the short list of best-ever QBs. We can now talk about Manning alongside Brady, Favre, Montana, Bradshaw, Dan Marino, John Elway and Johnny Unitas.
Manning is on pace to eclipse Favre’s records for passing yards and touchdowns (although Manning’s incredible streak of durability would have to also reach Favre proportions to do so). Another Super Bowl title, which would put him one ahead of Favre and just one behind Brady, might make Manning — at the very least — the greatest quarterback of this generation.
Oddly, Super Bowls haven’t given us great quarterback matchups in recent years. There have been some pretty good duals, but rarely do two future Hall of Famers go head-to-head.
The last time two sure-fire Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks played against each other in a Super Bowl was after the 1997 season, when Favre and Denver’s Elway went at it. Buffalo’s Jim Kelly and the Dallas Cowboys’ Troy Aikman had back-to-back battles in 1993-94, while Elway faced San Francisco’s Steve Young in the 1989 Super Bowl. Marino and Montana squared off once, as did Bradshaw and Roger Staubach.
But it happens less often than you might expect. Last year, Manning had to out-duel Rex Grossman for the big prize. Guys like Jake Delhomme, Brad Johnson, Steve McNair and Everett’s finest, Chris Chandler, have played in the big game over the past 10 years.
And who could forget that Trent Dilfer-Kerry Collins matchup in Super Bowl XXXV?
Trust us, the Super Bowl doesn’t need any more hype than it already gets. Sportswriters could write hundreds of inches on a Super Bowl week fender-bender, for Pete’s sake. (Come to think of it, we did, leading up to the Seahawks-Steelers matchup in Feb. ‘06.)
But this season’s big game could have added intrigue with historical significance.
If Brady, Favre or Manning hoists the trophy this year, the John Elways and Dan Marinos and Johnny Unitases can take a backseat in any arguments about the best to ever play.
And if someone like Jeff Garcia, David Garrard or Tony Romo-Simpson wins it?
Then the long-standing argument of Favre-vs.-Brady-vs.-Manning-vs.-Elway-vs.-Montana will go on and on and on.
Scott Johnson is The Herald’s pro football writer.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
